You should use color-safe bleach for any dyed fabrics, and chlorine bleach for white bedding. Hydrogen peroxide – Unlike chlorine bleach, hydrogen peroxide is safe for most fabrics and dyes. Add 1 cup of this antiseptic oxidizer to your wash. Note: you should still spot test to make sure it doesn't cause discoloration.
Sanitizing towels and bed sheets
To wash bleach-safe bed sheets and towels, machine wash in the hottest water recommended using a good detergent and ⅔ cup Clorox® Disinfecting Bleach in a traditional deep-fill washer, or ⅓ cup Clorox® Disinfecting Bleach in a high efficiency clothes washer.
In order to properly disinfect your bedding, you need to use the right laundry settings. Don't just set it on cold like you do for your colored clothes! Instead, you need to be setting your washing machine to the hottest temperature setting. This is because heat kills germs!
Tide to the rescue! Tide Antibacterial Fabric Spray is designed to kill 99.9% of bacteria* left behind on fabrics, as well as fight germs** on hard surfaces*** Every day, we come into contact with millions of germs on unclean hard surfaces. Bacteria can also linger on our clothes, linens, and upholstery.
Before you put your bed sheets in the washing machine, soak them for 15 minutes in a mixture of water, laundry liquid, vinegar and baking soda. Yes, you heard it right. Vinegar and soda are some great alternatives to bleach and are quite effective in killing bacteria.
“If you're taking care of someone who's ill or you're sick yourself, steam from a steamer or an iron is enough to sanitize sheets,” Richardson says.
Vinegar is not an effective disinfectant. It only works on a few strains of bacteria, such as E. coli and Salmonella. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that a disinfectant should kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses that cause diseases, therefore vinegar is not recommended for disinfecting.
Disinfectant spray or wipes: Disinfectant sprays or wipes are an essential tool for disinfecting bed sheets at hotels.
1. Vacuum bed surfaces thoroughly to remove as much topical dust, hair, dander and allergens as possible. 2. Spray your disinfectant solution or antibacterial spray lightly across all surfaces of your mattress, including the top, bottom and sides.
What is Dettol disinfectant spray? “This amazingly versatile spray can be used on all hard surfaces (such as toilets, bins and sinks), soft surfaces (such as sofas and mattresses), and leaves a fresh fragrance in the air.
Leave the quilt submerged for 10–15 minutes. Then, drain the soapy water from the tub. Fill the tub once more with fresh water and add half a cup of distilled white vinegar. The vinegar will ensure that any detergent residue will be removed from the quilt and will help keep the fabric soft after washing.
But, does laundry detergent kill germs? It's natural to think that, once you throw your laundry into the washing machine or dryer, it's going to become 100% clean. Unfortunately, laundry detergent alone isn't enough to kill harmful germs.
“Doctors recommend washing at 60 degrees or above to kill germs. When washing at lower temperatures, add a laundry disinfectant such as Dettol to your wash to kill bacteria.”
You can sanitize and disinfect your mattress using natural household cleaners or a commercial spray meant to disinfect sweat stains and kill germs. It's best to avoid sprays and solutions that contain bleach as this can damage the mattress fibers. You can also spray an enzyme cleaner on the mattress.
Clean your mattress
For areas like your mattress that can't be wiped down, you can use a disinfectant spray, like Lysol, to go after unseen germs. Use the spray in a sweeping motion to cover the entire surface, then let it completely dry before using the mattress or laying on the laundered sheets.
Yes, you can use disinfecting sprays like Glade or Lysol on your pillows to eliminate germs and bacteria. Ensure your pillows are completely dry before sleeping to prevent trapping moisture. Avoid oversaturating your pillow with a disinfecting spray.
Sheets are usually changed between guests, and sometimes state law requires it, but there's no guarantee that they will be. As for bedspreads, forget it. As countless hidden-camera investigative TV programs have confirmed, they aren't washed regularly.
Typically, hotels wash their bedding once every week including various kinds of comforters, sheets, and pillows. However, they often swap out the pillowcases and linens between the guests. It's a common practice that the hotel comforters are rarely automatically changed – unless a guest requests it.
Distilled White Vinegar
From cleaning to deodorizing, white vinegar is a safe, natural product that has many practical uses around the house—and it's a powerful laundry disinfectant, too. Add one cup of distilled white vinegar to the rinse cycle when you want to sanitize a load of laundry.
Washing Machine
Vinegar is sometimes used as a fabric softener or for getting rid of stains and odors in laundry. But as with dishwashers, it can damage the rubber seals and hoses in some washing machines to the point of causing leaks.